Driving Casualties from a First Hand Experience

Every time I go to drive, I think about my past experiences. One that haunts me and disrupts me to my core. I think about the possibilities of what could have been and think about the blessing of life I still get to carry. I still shiver when I have to take a sharp right turn on a backroad. Sometimes, I will be driving and having an enjoyable time listening to the radio or chatting with my friends. The flashbacks start to appear out of nowhere, and I freeze in sight. I panic with the fear of my life in the car.

It all started exactly one year ago: November of 2022. I woke up early with the excitement of the school day. The past week has been rough with multiple daily exams and unkind people. Instead of sulking about what is, I could take easy steps to better my life and attitude for the duration of this issue. I woke up to my alarm clock, put on my clothes, brushed my teeth and hair, and did the usual morning activities. Since I was usually a busy child in high school, I often did not have time to eat breakfast; however, on this day, I decided to wake up extra early to eat to help my happiness excel. I cooked a bagel until golden brown, slathered it with strawberry cream cheese, grabbed my car keys, and walked out the door. In order to save time, I decided to eat while driving to school, a decision I still regret to this day.

I turned the car on and set my plate with my bagel in the passenger’s seat. I started to drive down the road and occasionally reached over the console to pick my breakfast up from the plate. Since leaving my house early, I decided to drive about ten miles below the speed limit and enjoy the scenery instead of feeling rushed. Because I was driving so slowly, I did not see how eating while driving could end badly. I was still on the back roads, leaving my country house when it happened.

Now, the night before the incident, there was a huge thunderstorm. The roads were still wet and slick, and three branches were covering the road. Since I live in Texas, it is unusual to have even an ounce of rain, so maybe the crash was caused by a lack of experience, but it was caused by distracted driving.

I hit the turns on the road. It is a swift left, then a sharp right. My bagel was in my right hand, clutching the steering wheel with my left. I take a bite from the delicious breakfast and set it on the plate in the passenger seat. I set my hand down and realized I was unsure where the plate was. I glanced down for just a split second and set the pastry down.

I glance up and freeze. I notice my car going directly toward a small traffic pole. I swerved left violently and overcorrected. With the combination of this and the rain from the day before, I lost control of the car. My car swung violently from left to right, left to right. I try desperately, but I cannot gain control of the car. I see my car going directly towards a tall oak tree. I closed my eyes and thought about how this could be my last moment.

I felt a sharp thud pierce through my whole body. After a few moments, I opened my eyes. I could hear my car alarms blaring through the ringing in my ears. I crawled out of my totaled car with the blessing of only a few minor injuries.

This is something that I will never forget; this is something that constantly haunts me. This is how distracted driving has impacted my own life.

Since this incident, after I could look back on it without melting down, I have taken time to think about ways to prevent this from happening to future people. My mother, a gracious and loving woman, always told me that she would much rather me miss my curfew or class than put myself in an unsafe driving situation. This quote has such an impactful message. I constantly think about many ways to raise awareness of the dangers of distracted driving, but I constantly come back to one simple thing. Now, there are more apparent answers or ones that would give total closure in one glance. Becoming a more understanding society would greatly help this issue.

Many people, like myself, are consumed with anxiety. The constant belief that if you do not complete something immediately, your peer or supervisor will be upset. If I do not immediately email my boss, will they think less of me? If I do not immediately text my new friend, would they move on to someone else? So many questions may float through a person’s head as they are consumed by anxiety. This might make them act irrationally as they think pulling their phone out to answer that one person would be necessary, disregarding the thought of driving.

If, as a society, we promoted the idea that safety comes first and responding immediately or being perfect comes second, then we could save many innocent lives. Especially after the pandemic, with our new generation consumed by anxiety, having understanding people in your life can make all the difference.

It is true that while in school, we encounter many driving safety exercises, but what if we flipped the connotation to an approach that makes a more welcoming society? We would still need to implement the driving safety lessons, but adding these thoughts could change people’s mindsets in a completely different light. This is a simple way that could impact and save lives. This could be our positive future. To fix the hazards of our environment, first, we must target the hazards we create mentally within our society. After all, life is more important than that one email.